Security News > 2022 > August > Russian military uses Chinese drones and bots in combat, over manufacturers' protests
Russia's military has praised civilian grade Chinese-made drones and robots for having performed well on the battlefield, leading their manufacturers to point out the equipment is not intended or sold for military purposes.
"When assembling the M-81, Chinese technologies are used, the cost is 1 million rubles. The company plans to launch production in Russia," reported Russian tech media source iXBT. In late July, Unitree tweeted that it "Opposes any form of refit and behavior that is harmful or potentially harmful for human beings" and that it only manufactures and sells civilian products.
Chinese drone-maker DJI has also made claims that conflict with Russian state assertions.
In April DJI issued a statement clarifying that it did not market or sell its products for military use and "Unequivocally opposed" attempts to attach weapons to its products.
"We absolutely deplore any use of our products to cause harm. DJI has only ever made products for civilian use; they are not designed for military applications," insisted DJI, vowing to terminate business relationships with any distributor, reseller or business partner selling its products to customers for military purposes.
"Most of the products are designed for civilian purposes," responded DJI in Chinese to the Weibo post, adding "DJI products are not suitable or meet the needs of military use, we do not support military applications."